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LOUISA MAY ALCOTT 



A SOUVENIR 



MISS LURABEL HARLOW 



WJTH JU.ISTKATIONS 



BOSTON 
SAMUEL E. CASSINO 

18S9 



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CopvRiciiT, iSSS, 
Bv SA.MUlil. K. Cassino. 



/gl^r^/V'U'*^- Hxv~-*t-*-wrwv^ 



PSESSWOBK BY BERwrCK A SMITH, BOSTON. 



A S AMOS BRONSON ALCOTT lay dying, 
be received a visit from liis dearly loved 
daughter Louisa, — the last he would ever 
receive, though neither guessed it then. The 
father and child, who were so devotedly at- 
tached to each other, were not parted even in 
death ; for the loving daughter returned to 
her home only to leave it at the summons of 
that solemn messenger who had scarcely quitted 
her father's bedside, and together they awoke 
in Paradise. 

Loris.\ May Alcott was born in German- 
town, Pa., Nov. 29, 1832. When she was two 
years of age her parents removed to Boston, 
where her father taught school for a number 
of years. Of Mr. Alcott, Emerson has said, 
" He is a teacher. If he cannot make intelli- 
gent men feel the presence of a superior nature, 
the worse for them." I\Ir. Alcott taught his 
1 



school on Pestalozzian and Christian principles. 
His school was not a poi)ular one. Certain 
views on the New Testament which he held 
and advanced, gave offence to the parents of his 
pupils, as well as his advocacy of Grahaniism. 

Various newspaper attacks on his " Conver- 
sations on the Gospels," caused the school to 
rapidly decrease; and when, in 1839, he insisted 
on admitting a colored child among his schol- 
ars, so many children were withdrawn, that the 
school was closed. 

Mr. Alcott was eminently the advocate of the 
grand and pure in religion and society, and his 
daughter Louisa pays him a most touching 
tribute where she says, "Earnest young men 
found the gray-headed scholar as young at 
heart as they ; thoughtful or troubled women 
instinctively brought their doubts and sorrows 
to him, sure of finding the gentlest sympathy, 
the wisest counsel ; sinners told their sins to 
the pure-hearted old man, and were both re- 
buked and saved ; gifted men found a com- 
panion in him; ambitious men caught glimpses 

2 



of nobler ambitions than thoir own ; and evei 
worldlings confessed that hiii T)eliefs were beau 
tiful and true, although they 'wouldn't pay." 
— (" Lillle. Women") 

"When the school was given up, the AlcottJ 
went to Concord, where they remained a nura' 
bor of years, occupying a house thus delight 
fuUy described by Miss AJcott in one of hel 
stories : " Among green New-England hills 
stood an ancient house, many-gabled, mossy- 
roofed, and quaintly built, but picturesque and 
pleasant to the eye ; for a brook ran babbling 
through the orchard that encompassed it about, 
a garden-plot stretched upwai'd to the whisper- 
ing birches on the slope, and patriarchal elms 
stood sentinel upon the lawn, as they had stood 
almost a century ago, when the Revolution 
roUed that way and found them young." 

After living in Concord, the family went to 
"Tlie Fruitlands," Harvard. Here they dwelt 
in a religious community, where all hved by 
the work of their hands and refused to eat any 
animal food. This mode of living, Miss Alcott 



graphically sets forth in the amusing story of 
" Transcendental Wild Oats." 

During Miss Alcott's childhood, sho attended 
but one private school, taught by a Miss Mary 
Russell, now Mrs. Marston Watson, of Ply- 
mouth, Mass., her only other instructors being 
Thoreau and her father. 

It seems strange, as the father and daughter 
were thrown into such close companionship, 
and that, too, at the most imijressionable period 
of her life, that Louisa should not have imbibed 
more of the spirit of transceudeutalism ; but, 
though her stories have embodied much of it, 
she personally had little inclination for it. The 
history of her family in her early life shows 
how closely the practical and the ideal may be 
allied. Necessity and Philosopliy met and 
struggled in this household, and often the vic- 
tory must have been an even thing. 

On the one side the j^oetical, unpractical 
father, — an inspirer, a promulgator of philos- 
ophy, breathing an atmosphere of tenderness 
and ideality about his family, — and on the 



other tlio busy mother, striving against ahuost 
actual want in a royal way, and evincing all the 
while a sweet, firm faith and a gracious cour- 
age, which was no more marked when her after 
life of ease came. 

"The girls gave their hearts into their 
mother's keeping, their souls into their father's; 
and to both j)arents, who lived and labored so 
faithfully for them, they gave a love that grew 
with their growth and bound them tenderly to- 
gether by the sweetest tie which blesses life 
and outlives death." ^{'•Little Women.") 

WTien Louisa was twelve, her family returned 
to Concord, where they remained four years. 
Then their house was bought by Nathaniel 
Hawthorne, and called " The "Wayside." 

The family now went to Boston, and Louisa 
taught school for a time, winning her little 
pupils' hearts by the fascinating tales she 
related to them ; thus early showing evidence 
of an unusual power to interest all children. 
In her sixteenth year, she wi-ote the little book 
called "Flower Fables," composed for her 



younger sisters and their friends, the Emer- 
son children. 




Six years later the book was published, but 
did not win for her any great popularity. "Now, 
however, that her fame is established, the 
stories are receiving their meed of praise ; and 
truly, one obtains peculiarly sweet impressions 



from the lessons the flowers bring. The story 
of " Queen Aster " bears such teachings that all 
■wiU be interested in reading it, though the 
thoughts are couched in language suitable for 
little people. The story runs in this waj' : For 
years the flowers had been ruled by Prince 
Golden-rod, and wlien, finally, it was decided 
to have the gentle little Aster for a sovereign, 
great was his dismay and fierce the indignation 
of such flowers as were his devoted followera. 
The modest Uttle queen had much to contend 
with, but bravely persevered, and in spite of 
opposition on nearly every side, effected such 
improvements in her kingdom, that at last 
every one was led to love her, and acknowl- 
edge the potency of her gentle rule. All 
but the prince. Ho was very sad and lonely, 
— at first angry at the little Aster's defiance of 
him ; but as time rolled on his heart too had 
been won, and therefore he was sad, for he felt 
the queen could never forgive his cruel actions. 
But at last, one moonlight night, as he stood 
near the queen, she noticed his dejection and 



inquiied the cause of it. When ho had told all 
liiH troubles, she softly asked 
if it were not possible to have 
everything forgotten, and for 
them to rule together on 
one throne ; and the story 
ends in this pretty way : 

" ^Tiat the prince 
answered, only the 
moon knows ; but 
when the morn- 
ing came, all 
the meadow was 
surprised and 
rejoiced to see 
the gold aud pui'ple flowers 
standing side by side, while C^ 
the maple showered its rosy 
leaves upon them, and the old rock 
waved his crown of vine-leaves over 
them as he said, ' This is as it should be ; love 
and strength going hand in hand, and justice 
making the earth glad.' " 

8 





Besides teaching, Itliss Alcott also undertook 
any remunerative employment which offered 
itself, and iu turn cared for httle iuvaUda, went 
out as a governess, or did sewing, while at the 
same time her literary work never flagged. 
Many of the vicissitudes she suffered during 
these years of toil have Ijeen transcribed in 
"Work," and the trials of Christie are often 
identical ^vith those she endured herseK. 

" Christie was one of that large class of wo- 
men who are driven by necessity, temperament 
or principle, out into the world to find support, 
happiness, and a home for themselves. Many 
turn back discouraged ; more accept shadow 
for substance, and discover their mistake too 
late ; the weakest lose their purpose and them- 
selves ; but the strongest struggle on, and, 
after danger and defeat, earn at last the best 
success this world can give us, — -the possession 
of a brave and cheerful spirit, rich in self- 
knowledge, seU'-coutrol, self-heli). 

" This was the real desire of Christie's heart, 
this was to be her lesson and reward ; and to 

9 



this liai)py end she was slowly yet surely 
brought by the long discipline of life and 
labor." 

Miss .ilcott's inventive mind never lacked the 
power to produce, and many were the stories 
she penned in her early days. She herself re- 
lates the joy afforded her by the first live dol- 
lars her pen won. "The Rival Prima-Donuas " 
brought her ten dollars and a request for more 
of her writings. This story was afterwards 
dramatized, but, owing to a disagreement 
among the actors, was never presented on the 
stage. 

Miss Aleott at one time meditated going 
upon the stage, for she and her sisters had con- 
siderable talent, having cultivated their powers 
in a domestic theatre in Concord. One recalls 
the amusing scene in " Little Women," where 
the four sisters gave " The Witch's Curse," and 
the audience, as they were about to give vent 
to their apjireciation, received a sudden check 
by the shutting-up of the cot-bed on which 
they were assembled. 



Her next effort, after "Work," was of a 
more serious nature, and she wrote the novel 
" Moods," whicli, however, met with an indif- 
ferent reception. 

Then came the Eebellion, when every loyal 
heart responded to the call so urgently made ; 
and she, in the ardor of her young womanhood, 
her pati'iotic heart fired with a desire to serve 
her country in some sphere, volunteered as a 
nurse ; and her " Hospital Sketches " won for 
her recognition when she was least exjjecting 
it. The story most vividly shows her experi- 
ences. 

Her first duty was to help care for the 
wounded who had been brought from the bat- 
tle of Fredericksburg to the hospital in which 
she was to serve, and she best tells the story of 
the sad scene. 

"Round the gi-eat stove was gathered the 
tlreariest group I ever saw, — ragged, gaunt, 
and pale, mud to the knees, with bloody band- 
ages untouched since put on days before; many 
bunilled u)) in blankets, coats being lost or 
11 



useless ; and all wearing tbat disheartened look 
■which proclaims defeat more plainly than any 
telegram of the Bumside blundei'. I pitied 
them so much I dared not speak to them. I 
yearned to serve the di-eariest of them all." 

"When food was brought, she offered some to 
a badly wounded man. "Thank you, mai-m," 
he said ; " I don't think I'll ever eat again, for 
I'm shot in the stomach. But I'd like a drink 
of water, if you ain't too busy." 

"I rushed away," she says, "but the water- 
pails were gone to be refilled, and it was some 
time before they reai3j)eared. I did not forget 
my patient meanwhile, and, with the first mug- 
ful hurried back to him. He seemed asleep ; 
but something in the tired, white face caused 
me to listen for a breath. None came. I 
toiiched his forehead : it was cold ; and then I 
knew that while he waitetl a better nurse than 
I had given him a cooler di'aught, and healed 
him with a touch. I laid the sheet over the 
quiet sleeper, whom no noise could disturb, and 
half an hour later the bed was empty " 

12 



" Then came the tloctor's evening visit ; the 
administration of medicines ; washing fever- 
ish faces ; smoothing tumbled beds ; wetting 




wounds ; singing lullabies ; and preparations 
for the night. By twelve the last labor of love 
was done, the last " good-night " spoken ; and 
if any needed a reward for that day's work, 



13 



they surely received it in the silent eloquence 
of those long lines of faces, showing pale and 
peaceful in the shaded rooms, as we quitted 
them, followed by grateful glances that lighted 
us to bed, while rest, the sweetest, made our 
pillows soft ; while Night and Natui'e took our 
places, filling that great house of pain with the 
heahng miracles of Sleep and his diviner 
brother, Death." 

Miss Alcott worked most zealously at her 
duties as nurse, finding no service too humble, 
no act too menial, for those who had given their 
all for Freedom. 

The strain iipon her nerves, after a time, 
proved too severe ; yet still she toiled on, 
though she was but poorly fitted to endure the 
hardships of her daily life, worn as she was 
with overwork, until her father came for her, 
and she returned to her home. She was now 
forced to take a much needed rest, and she 
spent several months in Eui'ope as companion 
to an invalid lady. Upon her return, her father 
wished her to have her stories published, and 
u 




consulted Messrs. Roberts Bros, in regard to 
the matter. They advised the writing of a 
connected tale in book form, — -a story for girls; 
and Mies Alcott, with some inward misgivings, 
and to prove, as she said, that' she could not do 
> it, wrote the first part of 

"vT) " Little Women." One 
of the members of 
the firm j)laced 
the manuscript 
in the hands of 
his little niece 
to be read, and 
carefully noted 
the results. 



The Little girl in a ver^' short time waw whol- 
ly absorbed in the story. She heard nothing 
and saw nothing but the i)agcs where the 



deliglitfLil Btory was progressing. Now she 
laughed gaily, or again her eyes were filled 
with tears. Intent and engrossed, she road on 
till the tale was done, and then laid down the 
last sheet with the utmost f)raise for the story, 
and the deepest regret that it was finished. 

The book needed no further test. Its success 
was certain, and accordingly it was pubUshed 
in 1868. On its advent into the literary world. 
Miss Alcott's fame was established at once, and 
she then and there ijroved the truth of the as- 
sertion of a fiiond, that " One of Mr. Alcott's 
best contributions to literature is his daughter 
Louisa." 

"Little Women" is, as all know, a simple, 
graphic account of lour young girls, whose 
doings, as she says, correspond in iiaany instan- 
ces with those of herself and her sisters. She 
was " Jo ; " her sister, Mrs. Pratt, " IMeg ; " the 
sweet "Beth "was Elizabeth, who died nuany 
years ago; and "Amy" (a transposition of May) 
was the lovely artist-sister, who has also lUed. 

There can bo nothing but jjraise for " Little 



Womeu." The girls seem real flesh and blood, 
as we read of their daily home-life, told in 
such a charming' manner ; 
: girls who had their faults and 
foibles, who could ni>t always 
overcome the various small 
temptations that beset them, 
but who were ever guided 
finuly, but none the less ten- 
derly, by 
a w i s (^ . 

sweet 
mother, 
whose 
teachings, so faithfully tran- 
scribed, have served as a 
gentle monitor to thous- 
ands of little women all 
over the land, who felt 
their force not less potent- 
ly because they were deliv- 
ered in such an entertaining form. We love 
and take keen interest in all tlie sisters, but Jo 





\ 



win!! our hearts after all. Jo tried to do right, 
but she was very human, and we can feel her 
actual presence as we read. 

Following " Little Women " came " An Old- 
fashioned Girl." This also comes next in our 
affection for iVIiss Alcott's works, I think. Even 
now I can remember how I enjoyed reading it, 
and how, after spending the long summer after- 
noon iu plaj' with a dear little friend of mine, 
I would linger in the shady dooryard until I 
elicited the laughing inquiry, — " Now I know 
you're waiting to borrow 'An Old-fashioned 
Girl,' aren't you ? " and I would reluctantly but 
deUghtedly confess that it was so. 

An amusing incident is related of a gentle- 
man who, while riding in the cars, was reading 
"An Old-fashioned Girl." He became so inte- 
rested in the misfortunes of "Polly" and 
" Tom," that the tears rose to his eyes. Hastily 
glancing up to see if anyone had observed his 
emotion, he jjcrceived a young lady similarly 
affected. The work she was reading he saw 
was the second volume of " Little Women." 

18 



The next iu order of Miss Alcott's books was 
"Little Men," tlie mere announcement of which 
brought from the dealers advance orders for 
' '? fiftj' thousand copies. 

In this charming story 
e r(ad of the sisters 
gro^\•n to wo- 
^t' manhood, and 
it is with regret 
that we feel they 
can never be " lit- 
tle women " again. 
"Little Men" are 
jolly little lads, and 
we like them all, 
[aS ' especially "Nat,'" 
who, in his musical 
- . projiensities, re- 
y r' minds us some- 
what of " Laurie," 
iu "Little Women." 
original of perhaps both these characters 
a Polish youth, wlioin some writer has 

19 







The 
was 



lately met abroad. He loved Miss Alcott de- 
votedly, not only for the interest she took in 
his plans aiul pursuits, but also because of her 
noble self, and always called her " Little Jlam- 
ma." 

Jliss Alcott'a other works 
appeared in the following or- <i. 
der : " Aunt Jo's Serais-Bag," 
"Work," "Eight Cousins," 
"A Kose in Bloom," "Silver 
Pitchers and Independence," 
"Under the Lilacs," "Jack 
and Jill," " Proverb Sto- ^^ 
ries," and "Jo's Boj'S." 
Also, within the last 
year, two books have 
been j^ublished, — col- 
lections of short stories, perha^JS all written in 
her joungor days, — " Lulu's Library" and "A 
Garland for Girls." 

Before ^\•riting "Jo's Boys," Miss Alcott's 
health had begun to faU, and she dedicated this 
book in grateful tribute to hor doctor, as from 

20 




one who never expected to use her pen again. 
In the preface to the story she makes a pathetic 
alhisiou to the originals of " Amy " and others 
who are no longer present, " to suggest, criti- 
cise, and laugh " over their namesakes. 

Besides the plaudits 
^ she received on all 
sides, she also reaped 
a substantial financial bene- 
fit from her productions, re- 
§^^^f ceiving, it is said, $100,000 
royalty from them. She was 
^_^ most genei-ous with her wealth, 
caring for her father with great 
watchfulness ; loving and giving an 
' almost motherly solicitude to her 
little niece, the daughter of her sister May ; and 
adopting as her own son one of the " Little 
Men," who has recently taken her name. 

It was her deUght to serve her family in 
any capacity, and it was no uncommon sight to 
see her about the daily errands of the house- 
hold. 

21 




" So (lid sho travel on life's common wny 
In cheerful godliness ; and yet her heart 
The lowliest duties on herself did lay." 

She once Hpoke vf herself as one cleHtiued to 
fill vacant niches, being a wife to her father, a. 
husband to her widowed sister, 
and a mother to her little niece. 
Her father, always so proud of 
her success, is reported to have 
-^ said, some years ago, 
. -^''S "I ^T^ riding in her 
golden chariot." 
Some time before 
her death, which occurred 
the 6th of INIarch, 1888 
she was in feeble health ; 
but the end, when it came, 
was very sudden. In a note written to a 
friend (probably the last sho ever penned), sho 
said, " I am told I must spend another ypar in 
this ' Saints' Eest,' and then I am promised 
twenty years of health. I do not want so 
many, and I have no idea I shall see them. But 

22 









^3 



as I don't live for myself, I will live on for 
others." 

A most touching account has been given of a 
Bweet little girl who dearly- loved Miss Alcott, 
and had long been i)romised the happiness of 

seeing her. "When 
she was told of her 
death her grief was 
[^ most heartfelt. Her 
5|r^ only solace was 
,'^ ^: ) to hear of the 
last rites 
't~ that were 
performed 
for the much- 
ly ■ /' loved woman ; of the pale form as 
Ir^ ■"/ lay in the casket, which was com- 




X 



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pletely filled with the exquisite 
flowers so many loving friends had sent ; and 
how, after the last words had been spoken, her 
three " boj's " and a sculptor friend, who had 
been very dear to her, took charge of all that 
was left on earth, and bore it to its final rest- 

23 



ing-place in the receiving-tomb at Sleepy Hol- 
low Cemetery in Concord. 

During the ride there, in the cars, they reve- 
rently stood by their dear charge, and then it 
was placed by the side of the 
father she so greatly loved, 
and both were covered with 
jialnis, laurel wreaths, and the 
flowers sent by friends and 
the children of the "Society 
of Little Women." 

Everywhere the children 
mourned when they heard 
that the dear f liond who had 
wiitten all their favorite sto- 
ries would never write again. 
One little boy, when he had 
heard the sad news, exclaimed 
=3 as he hugged the book clos- 
er, —"Mamma, 'Little Men' still Uve, don't 
they?" 

She loved all children, and nothing pleased 
her more than to receive funny little letters and 




gifts that had been made for her by her thous- 
ands of young admirers. While she was so 
free from vanity that she never wished any al- 
lusion to her books, much less praise of them to 
be given by grown peoi)le, her ears wore ever 
open to the slightest expressions of pleasure 
from the little ones. 

But she was more than a fluent writer of 
merry, interesting stories ; her books are full 
of promptings and incentives to right-doing, to 
kindly action, and to the living of the daily life 
in such a way that it shall become " a little 
heaven below." 

She never preached : her good pcoi^le show 
•what is right more by their actions than in set 
speeches and wearying truisms, and especiallj' 
did she discourage any morbid self-searchings 
in her young readers, which so warp the natu- 
ral character, but engaged them in matters out- 
side themselves, which kept them in a state of 
mental activity and gave them no time to ques- 
tion their motives. 

We can almost feel her vital presence as we 



read her books, and she speaks most forcibly to 
lis all. Who cau fill her place ? Her writings 
mark an era in literature that has many faithful 
followers; but who can write another "Little 
Women " ? 

Miss Alcott was a much more beautiful wo- 
man, before her illness, than one would perhaps 
judge from any portrait of her. These have 
not been notable successes, and once caused her 
to remark, " When I don't look like the tragic 
muse, I look like a smoky relic of the great 
Boston fire." 

Her face, with its strong, firm forehead, 
crowned with a wealth of beautiful chestnut 
hair, the hazel eyes, meny and keen, and cheeks 
glowing with the flush that amusement or vex- 
ation brought to them, was a most pleasing one 
to look upon. Her conversation was just as we 
might imagine it from her books, — racy, pun- 
gent, and quaint. She was quick to feel, and 
keen to criticise, but never iu a scathing way ; 
and it need hardly be said that she never de- 
scended to invidious comparisons or petty fault- 

26 



V 



finding. On the contrary, her enthusiasm over 
the good woi-ks of any new author was delight- 
ful to witness, so full was it of interest and 
good-will. Her sympathy was always given 
wholly and unreservedly to every cause of phil- 
anthropy, and aU that 
tended to the higher 
education and greater 
development of women 
could be sure of the ready 
enlistment of her tongue 
and pen. Her character 
was noble, her disposition 
sweet; and we learn from rem- 
iniscences of her, and also from |l^« 
the lips of one who was a perso- 
nal friend, that the principle of 
right-doing she so strongly advocated 
found no truer adherent than herself, and, as 
one has said, " She lived a Ufe sweeter, nobler, 
wholesomer, and more inspiring, than the best 
chapters of her best books." 

The most fitting tribute that can be paid to 

27 




her is contaiued in the words bhe herself 
penned : — 

"The groat, deep heart that was a home for all ; 
Just, eloquent and strong 
In [irotest ajjainst wrong ; 
Wide charity that knew no sin, no fail. 

" O noble woman ! never more a queen 
Than in the laying down 
Of sci'ptre and of crown, 
To win a greater kingdom yet unseen : 

" Teaching us how to seek the highest goal ; 
To earn the true success; 
To live, to love, to bless, 
And make Deatli proud to lake a royal soul." 



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